


A Change of Heart-to-Heart

by SkyRose



Series: Drarropoly [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Banter, Ficlet, Flirting, Hogwarts Eighth Year, M/M, Potions, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-08-24 07:42:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16635752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyRose/pseuds/SkyRose
Summary: “No, Potter, these are Lionfish spines. I asked for Porcupine quills,” Draco chided. He was hovering over their shared cauldron, carefully watching the liquid’s color change.Or: Harry and Draco are stuck in Slughorn's making potions out of class. They have a heart-to-heart.





	A Change of Heart-to-Heart

**Author's Note:**

> First prompt down! I'm really excited to being participating in Drarropoly. I hope the word constraints will provide some excellent writing exercises! Enjoy this first ficlet of many!

“No, Potter, these are Lionfish spines. I asked for Porcupine quills,” Draco chided. He was hovering over their shared cauldron, carefully watching the liquid’s color change.

“Well, they’re both pointy,” Harry grumbled as he made it back to the storage room. He was stuck making a potion with Malfoy when he should be out watching the Hufflepuff-Slytherin Quidditch game. Slughorn had asked the two of them to make some simple potions he’d use for demonstration, with the promise of extra credit. Harry, quite frankly, needed that extra credit.

When Harry made it back to Draco, quills in hand, the Slytherin was mindfully stirring. “Here,” he said as he set the quills down.

“Thank you. Be a dear and cut those rat tails,” Draco instructed.

This was the third time Harry and Draco found themselves doing work for Slughorn. One time was cleaning after some potions ended in disaster. Harry and Draco hadn’t exchanged many words that time. The second was sorting his storage room, where the polite yet hesitant conversations started. Now, it seemed they were something approaching some sort of sarcastic middle ground.

“Cut more uniformly, Potter,” Draco commented when his eyes glanced over at Harry.

Harry rolled his eyes. “You know, I could be having fun with my friends, but I’m here _helping_ you. You don’t need to be such a bossy Slytherin.”

“Bossy Slytherin? Why, how do you know my middle names?” Draco asked with feign surprise.

Harry couldn’t hold back a small chuckle. Draco noticed and Harry swore he saw a hint of a smile on his face because of it.

“Why do you even do this? You’re a fairly competent potion-maker. I doubt Slughorn’s offering you extra credit,” Harry inquired.

Draco scooped up the bits of rat tail and dropped them into the cauldron. “Well, Potter, sometimes I like to help people out of the goodness of my heart.”

Harry snorted. “Right. There goes Draco Bossy Slytherin Malfoy, he never has a secret agenda.”

Draco glared. “Sometimes, but not always.”

“Mhmm. But I have a feeling this falls into _sometimes_.”

Draco sighed. He read something of the parchment of recipes Slughorn had given him. _“Wait until the potion turns a deep blue before adding the second half of rat tails, may take a few minutes.”_

“Don’t ignore me. I’m curious,” Harry said, he moved closer to Draco, who practically had his head in the cauldron.

Draco moved away, staring down at the grey brick floor. “It’s rather silly…”

“What? You like spending time with ole Potty?” Harry questioned, grinning in Draco’s face.

“No!” Draco sputtered, shoving Harry away. His face was turning red, to Harry’s delight. “I… Well, I don’t think Slughorn likes me very much.”

“Oh,” Harry said. “Well, why do you care? He’s surely just some crazy old man to you.”

Draco frowned, tossing Harry an annoyed look. “Sure, he’s a bit of a kook. But,” Draco paused, “A lot of people don’t like me here. Some are just, easier to get to come around.”

“Huh,” Harry stated. “Well, what about me?”

Draco stared blankly. “What about you?”

“Do you think I like you?”

“Considering our history, no, Potter, I wouldn’t imagine you like me,” Draco conceded.

Harry let himself smile, open and honest. He noticed Draco’s shoulders relax slightly in response. “You’re right, I don’t like you.”

Draco immediately tightened back up again. “What?” he shouted. “What game are you—”

Harry covered his hand over Draco’s mouth. _“But_ I think with time, I could learn.” He slowly uncovered Draco’s mouth, who remained silent for a moment. His eyebrow was raised in confusion.

Harry had been toying with the idea of burying the hatchet with Draco for a while. After all, Draco was easy on the eyes and Harry was a bit lonely since he broke up with Ginny. He’d also heard some interesting rumors about Draco and Ravenclaw seventh year last month. Harry didn’t think he was the only one with the interest, with the amount Draco’s been blushing around him lately.

“Oh,” Draco said finally.

“That’s it,” Harry replied. _“Oh”_

“Well, I…” Draco stuttered, his eyes avoided Harry’s and landed on the cauldron. “The Potion!” Harry rushed over to see the potion was a dreadfully dark indigo shade. Draco closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Great, now we’ve got to start all over.”

“Brilliant!” Harry exclaimed. “At this rate, I’ll surely like you by the end of the night.”

Draco’s eyes snapped open at that. He glared at Harry. “Are you mocking, Potter? Because I swear—”

“Oh, stuff it Malfoy. I think it’s cute you’re so insecure about this.”

“I’m not _insecure_!” Draco bickered back, cheeks turning pink.

“Oh please, insecure’s practically your third middle name,” Harry joked. “But, seriously, I wouldn’t mind spending some time with you. I mean, we’ve had our differences, but we’re adults and we’ve been through a lot. I’m willing to forget silly childhood rivalries if you are too.”

Draco pursed his lips. “Are you sure you didn’t take that Confusing Concoction we made earlier?”

Harry laughed. “No, I didn’t. I swear.”

Draco smirked. “In that case, I’ll consider it.”

“Would you consider ditching this Hair-Raising Potion with me and seeing if the Quidditch game is still going?”

It was Draco’s turn to laugh. “Potter, nothing would bring me greater joy.”

The Hufflepuff seeker caught the snitch with the first ten minutes of the game. They didn’t discover this until they found the stands empty. Luckily, Harry and Draco discovered other ways of entertainment in the Quidditch empty stands.

_fin_

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a kudos or comment if you enjoyed! Or hop on over to [my tumblr,](http://skywalkertvvins.tumblr.com/) I'll be posting my drarropoly works there too!


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